RAISING A CUPPA

TO A BLACK CANADIAN PIONEER

Anderson Abbott attended schools in both Canada and the USA, returning to graduate from the University Of Toronto Faculty Of Medicine in 1861, to become the first Canadian born Black surgeon and family physician.

By Beth McBlain

While Black Lives Matter demonstrators are marching in one part of Toronto there is a small café located in the most southerly part of the city that is named for and honors one of Canada’s most unknown famous Black men – Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott, a free born Canadian surgeon, family doctor and decorated hero of the American Civil War.

The Abbott, a small café on Spencer Avenue in the Parkdale area of Toronto has been in existence for 10 years now and from the very beginning it has honored Dr. Abbott (1837-1913). Anderson Ruffin Abbott was born to free Black parents in 1837. They were transplanted free born Black Americans who came north to escape the much more lethal form of racism that existed in the United States in those days. The family were originally merchants, operating a general goods store in Mobile, Alabama. After they relocated to Canada, Abbott’s father (Wilson Abbott) made his money in real estate eventually becoming active in the politics of early Toronto and winning a seat on the City Council in 1838. Abbott had 2 siblings who survived to adulthood; Amelia Etta and William Henson.

As a young man, Anderson Abbott attended schools in both Canada and the USA, returning to graduate from the University Of Toronto Faculty Of Medicine in 1861, becoming the first Canadian born Black surgeon and family physician.

When the American Civil war began he applied to serve in the Union Army but was rejected when he refused to serve only in the segregated corps of the army. He was ultimately taken on as a civilian contractor, one of only eight Black surgeons in the entire Union Army. During his time in the Army he became a friend of President Abraham Lincoln and was one of the doctors in attendance after the President was shot in 1865.

After the war Abbott returned to Toronto, marrying Mary Ann Casey, an 18 year old barber’s daughter in 1871. The newlyweds settled in Chatham, Ontario where Abbott opened a successful medical practice. The couple had and raised seven children.

This article is too short to detail all of Abbott’s accomplishments over his lifetime but some of the highlights include: Becoming the first Black coroner for Kent County in 1874. He held this position until 1881. He served as the President of the Chatham Medical Society. Simultaneously, serving as President of the Wilberforce Educational Institute from 1873 to 1877; a school that prepared African Canadian students for university studies. From this position he campaigned against racially segregated schools.

After living in various other parts of southern Ontario the family moved to Chicago in 1894 where he served as the surgeon-in-chief (eventually becoming the Medical Superintendent) of the hospital now known as Provident Hospital of Cook County. At the time it was the first training hospital for Black nurses in the United States.

The family returned to Toronto in 1898 where he continued to teach, write and lecture. His areas of interest included medicine, Black history, the Civil War, Darwinism, biology, and poetry.

Abbott died in Toronto in 1913 at the age of 76. He is buried at Toronto Necropolis which is located on the west side of the Don Valley near the Riverdale Farm. It is the resting place of several other well-known Canadians.

Photo Credits: WikiMedia